September 2010

This month PLoS Medicine publishes a Debate that offers three unique perspectives on this question: Sofia Gruskin and Zyde Raad from the Harvard School of Public Health say more assessment is needed of such responsibilities; Geralyn Ritter, Vice President of Global Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility at Merck & Co. argues that multiple stakeholders could do more to help States deliver the right to health; and Paul Hunt and Rajat Khosla introduce Mr. Hunt's work as the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to the highest attainable standard of health (2002-2008), regarding the human rights responsibilities of pharmaceutical companies and access to medicines. In their accompanying Editorial, the PLoS Medicine Editors argue that drug companies should be held much more accountable for their human rights responsibilities.

Image Credit: cosmo flash (at flickr.com)

Editorial

Drug Companies Should Be Held More Accountable for Their Human Rights Responsibilities

The PLoS Medicine Editors

PLOS Medicine: published September 28, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000344

The PLoS Medicine Debates

Are Drug Companies Living Up to Their Human Rights Responsibilities? Moving Toward Assessment

Sofia Gruskin, Zyde Raad

PLOS Medicine: published September 28, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000310

Are Drug Companies Living Up to Their Human Rights Responsibilities? The Merck Perspective

Geralyn S. Ritter

PLOS Medicine: published September 28, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000343

Are Drug Companies Living Up to Their Human Rights Responsibilities? The Perspective of the Former United Nations Special Rapporteur (2002-2008)

Paul Hunt, Rajat Khosla

PLOS Medicine: published September 28, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000330

Perspective

Radiodiagnostic Imaging in Pregnancy and the Risk of Childhood Malignancy: Raising the Bar

Eduardo L. Franco, Guy-Anne Turgeon

PLOS Medicine: published September 7, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000338

Health in Action

AIDS Vaccine for Asia Network (AVAN): Expanding the Regional Role in Developing HIV Vaccines

Stephen J. Kent, David A. Cooper, Mean Chhi Vun, Yiming Shao, Linqi Zhang, Nirmal Ganguly, Budiman Bela, Hiko Tamashiro, Rossana Ditangco, Supachai Rerks-Ngarm, Punnee Pitisuttithum, Nguyen Van Kinh, Alan Bernstein, Saladin Osmanov, for the AIDS Vaccine for Asia Network investigators and supporters

PLOS Medicine: published September 21, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000331

Policy Forums

Examining the “Urban Advantage” in Maternal Health Care in Developing Countries

Zoë Matthews, Amos Channon, Sarah Neal, David Osrin, Nyovani Madise, William Stones

PLOS Medicine: published September 14, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000327

Does It Matter Who Writes Medical News Stories?

Amanda Wilson, Jane Robertson, Patrick McElduff, Alison Jones, David Henry

PLOS Medicine: published September 14, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000323

Seventy-Five Trials and Eleven Systematic Reviews a Day: How Will We Ever Keep Up?

Hilda Bastian, Paul Glasziou, Iain Chalmers

PLOS Medicine: published September 21, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000326

The Haunting of Medical Journals: How Ghostwriting Sold “HRT”

Adriane J. Fugh-Berman

PLOS Medicine: published September 7, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000335

Research Articles

Cost-Effectiveness of Pooled Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing for Acute HIV Infection after Third-Generation HIV Antibody Screening and Rapid Testing in the United States: A Comparison of Three Public Health Settings

Angela B. Hutchinson, Pragna Patel, Stephanie L. Sansom, Paul G. Farnham, Timothy J. Sullivan, Berry Bennett, Peter R. Kerndt, Robert K. Bolan, James D. Heffelfinger, Vimalanand S. Prabhu, Bernard M. Branson

PLOS Medicine: published September 28, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000342

Community Case Management of Fever Due to Malaria and Pneumonia in Children Under Five in Zambia: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Kojo Yeboah-Antwi, Portipher Pilingana, William B. Macleod, Katherine Semrau, Kazungu Siazeele, Penelope Kalesha, Busiku Hamainza, Phil Seidenberg, Arthur Mazimba, Lora Sabin, Karen Kamholz, Donald M. Thea, Davidson H. Hamer

PLOS Medicine: published September 21, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000340

Combined Impact of Lifestyle-Related Factors on Total and Cause-Specific Mortality among Chinese Women: Prospective Cohort Study

Sarah J. Nechuta, Xiao-Ou Shu, Hong-Lan Li, Gong Yang, Yong-Bing Xiang, Hui Cai, Wong-Ho Chow, Butian Ji, Xianglan Zhang, Wanqing Wen, Yu-Tang Gao, Wei Zheng

PLOS Medicine: published September 14, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000339

Effectiveness of Chest Physiotherapy in Infants Hospitalized with Acute Bronchiolitis: A Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Trial

Vincent Gajdos, Sandrine Katsahian, Nicole Beydon, Véronique Abadie, Loïc de Pontual, Sophie Larrar, Ralph Epaud, Bertrand Chevallier, Sylvain Bailleux, Alix Mollet-Boudjemline, Jean Bouyer, Sylvie Chevret, Philippe Labrune

PLOS Medicine: published September 28, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000345

Major Radiodiagnostic Imaging in Pregnancy and the Risk of Childhood Malignancy: A Population-Based Cohort Study in Ontario

Joel G. Ray, Michael J. Schull, Marcelo L. Urquia, John J. You, Astrid Guttmann, Marian J. Vermeulen

PLOS Medicine: published September 7, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000337

Persistence with Statins and Onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Gabriel Chodick, Howard Amital, Yoav Shalem, Ehud Kokia, Anthony D. Heymann, Avi Porath, Varda Shalev

PLOS Medicine: published September 7, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000336

A Genetic Association Study of Serum Acute-Phase C-Reactive Protein Levels in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Implications for Clinical Interpretation

Benjamin Rhodes, Marilyn E. Merriman, Andrew Harrison, Michael J. Nissen, Malcolm Smith, Lisa Stamp, Sophia Steer, Tony R. Merriman, Timothy J. Vyse

PLOS Medicine: published September 21, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000341

Cover

Are drug companies living up to their human rights responsibilities?